Eden popped up as well. She reached out and grabbed Cora’s face, pulling her down for a quick kiss. 

“I am nice!” Eden smirked. A dark red blush swept over Cora as she mumbled something about people being around and not to pull stunts like that where someone could watch. 

“That’s not very professional of you, Eden.” Jasper tried to defend Cora in the same way she had defended him. Eden was never one to feel like Cora and Jasper were ganging up on her, which meant Jasper never felt bad about taking jabs (physical and verbal) when she and Cora were at odds.

“Oh shush,” Eden wrapped one arm around Cora’s waist and pulled her in close. “You’re just mad because you’ve been too focused on work to make time for a partner.” 

Jasper quickly felt the heat of a blush spread across his face and down his neck, and he was sure both Eden and Cora noticed immediately. A quiet groan rumbled from deep within Jasper’s throat as he tried to cover his face with both hands. 

“Shut up,” was all he could mumble. Eden wasn’t wrong, per se, but the reminder that Jasper had been without a romantic partner for several years was not what he needed to hear. There were more important things to worry about, and soon, Jasper could potentially relax once he entered the Dragonguard.

A quiet sound of clatter arose from the distance, causing Jasper to stand up quickly. Each of the three friends turned to look down the road in an attempt to figure out what was happening, when several men on horseback appeared in their sight. Whoever they were, they were headed in the direction of the trio, and they were approaching pretty quick.

“Do you think it’s Viktor?” Jasper asked innocently. There weren’t too many people in Lumen or from the surrounding cities that rode horseback. Even fewer traveled in an entourage such as this one, with two riders holding banners of black and blue above their heads.

Cora narrowed her eyes at Jasper and huffed. 

“Oh yeah, I’m sure Viktor is on his way over right now to talk to you specifically, royalty boy.” Eden high-fived Cora and smirked as Jasper sighed and folded his arms over his chest. 

“It was just a question,” he mumbled, slightly irritated.

As the group got closer, Jasper noticed the banners did, in fact, behold the Dragonguard crest. Four men in total rode in perfect formation; the banner-bearers taking the back left and right sides. At the front of the formation was an eccentric, lavishly-dressed man on a white horse that was much larger than the others.

The horsemen stopped only a few feet from where Jasper, Eden, and Cora stood in silent awe. Their leader in front donned a dark blue, long-sleeve tunic and matching pants. Along the edges of the tunic were embroidered rose-shaped emblems. His blonde hair was neatly combed back to reveal devastatingly dark eyes that would be enough to mesmerize anyone unsuspecting of the dark magic looming within this man’s soul. As he stepped off of his horse, the flowing sleeves of his tunic moved fluidly as he did, revealing more beaded and embroidered work in the shapes of dragons and rose petals.

“Ah, there’s my little Jasper and his darling little friends!” The grandiose voice of the Dragonguard leader, Viktor, had the three knights in training almost trembling where they stood. 

“Viktor. Hello,” Jasper folded his hands behind his back and stood up as straight as he could. 

It had been many years since Jasper had seen Viktor. There was a time where Viktor was almost like an uncle to Jasper. And suddenly, Viktor no longer held a primary role in Jasper’s life, other than the man who led the knights he so desperately wanted to join.

Viktor took a few steps closer to Jasper and placed his hand delicately on the boy’s shoulder. 

“You’re so grown up now. Ready to become one of my prized possessions in just a few short days?” 

Jasper tilted his head slightly and pushed his eyebrows together, mouthing the words prized possession, as he found the phrasing of entering the Dragonguard to be a bit odd. But, Jasper knew Viktor to be unconventional, so there was no real reason to question the way he spoke.

Eden cleared her throat and adjusted her tunic so as to not look like she just finished sparring for several hours. 

“Viktor, sir! I assure you that we are all well and ready for this quest you are going to set us on. We won’t let you down!” 

Viktor shifted his gaze with his eyes only to look down at Eden. He looked her up and down before turning his head to fully get a good look at the smallest of the three.

A sly smile broke over Viktor’s face. He clapped his hands a few times and tapped his feet in the dirt in excitement. 

“You! Bring me the parcels!” A dark-haired man with a small marking just below his right eye wore a frown as he dismounted from his own horse. Compared to the other men who rode with Viktor, this one seemed the most plain. There was no beading or regalia among the long, black tunic he wore, nor did there seem to be any way to distinguish this man among a crowd of people. That was until he lifted his hand to give Viktor what he had demanded.

On his left wrist was a small tattoo in the shape of the Dragonguard crest. A heart not quite connected together in the middle was encapsulated by a set of dragon wings on either side. Jasper shifted uncomfortably where he stood at the idea of having to be tattooed upon taking his oath as a knight. 

“Oh, isn’t this exciting!” Viktor laughed dramatically and held the parcels up toward the sky before gently setting them down at his feet. “The Dragonguard is growing in number! And soon, we will make all of Alger-Kain a safe place for humanity!” 

Eden began to clap her hands quickly together as she squealed in agreement. She nudged Cora with her elbow and shot her a look, hoping to inspire her girlfriend to show some more excitement about what was coming. Cora sighed and began to slow clap. Their applause further encouraged Viktor’s theatrics. 

A terrifying smile replaced the grin he was already wearing as he made intense eye contact with Jasper. Jasper felt a strange rush of nerves the longer Viktor looked at him. The darkened eyes clouded with the magic of a warlock remained fixed on Jasper until Eden spoke up once again. Jasper released a heavy breath and blinked a few times, silently reminding himself to thank Eden for being so chatty.

Viktor looked away to reluctantly listen to the persistent young girl babble on about what she had hoped to gain from becoming a knight. Being in Viktor’s presence after all of this time reminded Jasper of just how powerful Viktor was and how serious the older man was about Jasper joining his elite force.